Gathering head for loading apparatus



GATHERING HEAD FOR LOADING APPARATUS Filed Nov. 4, 1964- 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 H INVENTOR. g- 2 Chafles J. Arndt BY M W a M A TTORN V Oct. 11, 1966 c. J. ARNDT 3,277,993

GATHERING HEAD FOR LOADING APPARATUS Filed Nov. 4, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

Charles J. Arndn NW 5 M ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,277,993 GATHERING HEAD FOR LOADING APPARATUS Charles J. Arndt, Harvey, Ill., assignor to Goodman Manufacturing Company, Chicago, 11]., a corporation of Illinois Filed Nov. 4, 1964, Ser. No. 408,898 2 Claims. (Cl. 198-9) The present invention relates generally to a gathering head for a loading apparatus and more particularly to a gathering head having a wide sweep.

Loading machines having gathering arms which sweep out a reniform curve have been known for many years, particularly in underground mining operations. Characteristically, such machines were operated in a sequence of steps which included several side-by-side frontal passes across a mine face. It was desirable for the gathering arms of such machines to provide a forwardly directed blow for fracturing large lumps, followed by a sidewise sweeping motion directed toward a conveyor. The gathering arms of such machines were customarily driven by a powered crank and guided by various unpowered devices to provide the forward blow and sidewise sweep.

More recently, blasting has been replaced by so-called continuous mining machines which reduce the mineral face to small lumps by mechanical means. Ideally, these machines are designed to attack a wide face of the mineral seam in a single frontal pass operation. This has raised the need for gathering apparatus capable of sweeping an extra wide place in order to accommodate the material dislodged from the wide mining face. Where such gathering apparatus is combined with a dislodging head, it is essential that it be able to sweep the entire width of the mining place in a single pass.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide loading apparatus having a wide gathering sweep. A further object is to provide gathering apparatus controlled by a pair of powered cranks. A still further object is to provide gathering apparatus having a pair of auxiliary gathering arms supplementing a pair of main gathering arms to sweep a wide place.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from the following specification together with the drawings.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a plan view of a gathering head according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an elevation view of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of an alterate form of the invention; and

FIG. 4 is a sectional elevation view of the embodiment of FIG. 3 taken along the line 44 of FIG. 3 showing the gathering arm in the section plane.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, a gathering head is indicated generally by the numeral 10. An apron 11 forms the upper surface of head and has a recessed channel 12 forming the forward portion of a rearwardly extending conveyor. A chain 13 and flights 14 travel around foot shaft 16 to provide the upper load carrying portion of the conveyor. Conveyor chain 13- is driven by a power source not shown in the drawings, and transfers power to foot shaft 16 by engagement with sprocket 17. Foot shaft 16 is extended through the side walls of the recessed channel below apron 11. Bevel gears 18 and 19 are connected to respective ends of shaft 16. Bevel gears 21 and 22 mesh with respective of bevel gears 18 and 19 and are journaled for rotation on the lower side of apron 11. Enclosure 23 provides protection for the gears and means for mounting suitable supporting bearings to the underside of apron 11.

3,277,993 Patented Oct. 11, 1966 Bevel gears 21 and 22 are connected to respective spur gears 24 and 26 which in turn are meshed with respective of spur gears 27 and 28. Each of spur gears 24, 26, 27 and 28 has a crank 29, 31, 32, 33 connected to it which extends above apron 11. Cranks 29 and 32 form a cooperating pair on one side of the conveyor while cranks 31 and 33 form a similar cooperating pair on the other side of the conveyor. Crank 32 turns counter clockwise while cooperating crank 29- turns clockwise since the two are connected to the pair of meshing spur gears 24 and 27. Crank 33 turns clockwise while crank 31 turns counter clockwise for a similar reason. The two pairs of cranks can be operated in synchronism with each other because each pair is driven from the cross shaft 16.

Main gathering arm 34 has a pair of pivotal connections. One connection is to crank 32 and the other is to link 37 which is also pivotally connected to crank 29. The other main gathering arm 36 is similarly pivotally connected to crank 33 and link 38.

Each main gathering arm 34 or 36 executes a sweeping curve inwardly across the front of the apron and rearwardly over the conveyor. This sweeping motion results in broken and dislodged material being swept onto the conveyor. As seen in FIG. 1, the two curves overlap each other near the front of apron 11 to provide good cleanup.

Auxiliary digging arms 39 and 41 extend from links 37 and 38 respectively. These auxiliary arms sweep out reniform curves at the outer, forward corners of apron 11. These curves overlap the curves swept out by main gathering arms 34 and 36. Thus, dislodged material near the edge of apron 11 is first encountered by auxiliary arm 39 or 41 and swept inwardly toward the middle where it is picked up by gathering arm 34 or 36 and swept onto the conveyor.

An alternate form of the invention is shown in FIG. 3 without the auxiliary arms 39 and 41. An apron 61 has a recessed channel '62 in which a chain 63 and flights 64 form the upper flight of a conveyor. Chain 63 is wrapped around a sprocket 67 mounted on foot shaft 66 which extends laterally beyond channel 62 beneath apron 611. Bevel gears 68 and 69 are mounted on the extended portions of shaft 66. Bevel gears 71 and 72 mesh with gears 68 and 69 which are integral with spur gears 74 and 76. Another set of spur gears 77 and 78 mesh with gears 74 and 76.

Cranks 79 and 81 are connected to spur gears 74 and 76 as by key 42. Cranks 82 and 83 are keyed to spur gears 77 and 78 as by key 43. Thus, as crank 79 rotates clockwise, crank 82 must rotate counter clockwise and as crank 81 rotates counter clockwise, crank 83 must rotate clockwise.

A pair of main gathering arms 84 and 86 are pivotally mounted respectively on cranks 79 and 81. A satisfactory pivotal connection is shown in FIG. 4 where arm 86 is mounted on anti-friction bearing 87 which in turn is mounted on crank 81. An enclosure 73, mounted beneath apron 61, provides support for anti-friction bearings 88 and 89 in which gears 72, 76 and crank 81 are mounted. Enclosures 73 also provides support for bearings 91 and 92 in which spur gear 78 and crank 83 are mounted.

Gathering arms 84 and 86 are provided with elongated guideways 93 and 94 which engage portions of cranks '82 and 83. The combined effect of oppositely rotating cranks 81 and 83 acting on arm 86 through bearing 87 and guideway 94 is to sweep the end of the arm through a wide reniform curve as shown in FIG. 3. The pair of arms 84 and 86 sweep out complementary overlapping curves which begin at the outer edges of apron 61 and sweep to the middle, slightly overlapping the conveyor. Thus, material is encountered by arms 84 and 86 near the sides of apron 61 and swept in one continuous motion, across and into the conveyor.

While I have shown a preferred and an alternate embodiment of my invention, it will be understood that other forms and modifications can be practiced within the spirit of the invention and the scope of the following claims.

I claim: 1. In a gathering apparatus having a conveyor, an inclined apron extending across the front and along each side of said conveyor, for a portion of the length thereof, a main gathering arm, an auxiliary a-rm, means for orbitally driving said arms comprising,

two cranks rotatably mounted on said apron and on one side of said conveyor for rotation about parallel axes in the general plane of said apron, one crank being disposed rearwardly of the other, geared drive connections to said cranks for simultaneously driving said cranks in opposite directions, said main gathering arm connected at an end to one of said cranks, and an elongated link connected at one end to said main gathering arm and intermediate its ends to said other crank,

and said auxiliary arm being secured to and extending from the other end of said link.

2. The structure of claim 1,

wherein the conveyor turns about a foot shaft at its front end and rotatably drives said foot shaft,

wherein main and auxiliary gathering arms are mounted on each side of said conveyor,

wherein the geared drive connections comprise a pair of interrneshed gears disposed beneath said apron on each side of said conveyor, each of which gears is connected to and drives a respective crank,

and wherein geared driving connections are provided from said foot shaft to each pair of intermeshing gears for driving said gears of each pair of said intermeshing gears in opposite directions and synchronizing the movements of each pair of gathering arms.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,582,247 4/1926 Burch 198-10 2,880,842 4/1959 Abraham 19810 3,190,698 6/ 196-5 Arentzen 198-9 FOREIGN PATENTS 459,613 9/ 1949 Canada.

EVON C. BLUNK, Primary Examiner. RICHARD E. AEGERTER, Examiner. 

1. IN A GATHERING APPARATUS HAVING A CONVEYOR, AN INCLINED APRON EXTENDING ACROSS THE FRONT AND ALONG EACH SIDE OF SAID CONVEYOR, FOR A PORTION OF THE LENGTH THEREOF, A MAIN GATHERING ARM, AN AUXILIARY ARM, MEANS FOR ORBITALLY DRIVING SAID ARMS COMPRISING, TWO CRANKS ROTATABLY MOUNTED ON SAID APRON AND ON ONE SIDE OF SAID CONVEYOR FOR ROTATION ABOUT PARALLEL AXES IN THE GENERAL PLANE OF SAID APRON. ONE CRANK BEING DISPOSED REARWARDLY OF THE OTHER, FEARED DRIVE CONNECTIONS TO SAID CRANKS FOR SIMULTANEOUSLY DRIVING SAID CRANKS IN OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS, SAID MAIN GATHERING ARM CONNECTED AT AN END TO ONE OF SAID CRANKS, 